Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: One-Eyed Village (2)
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As the host pulled back the cloth, what emerged from within was a black liquid.
No... it was closer to a subtly viscous slime than a true liquid.
Contained within the transparent box, it writhed as if alive even now.
From its surface, tentacle-like protrusions extended in all directions before slowly retracting, over and over.
Compared to the grandiose introduction, its first impression was utterly underwhelming.
The host let out an awkward laugh at the suddenly deflated atmosphere.
"Haha... You all seem pretty disappointed. But look closely. Anyone can see it's moving on its own with clear intent, right? It's not manipulated by mana. It's a mysterious power even we haven't been able to define."
The host's words poured out like a torrent, as if his pants were on fire, but I let them flow past me like water while lost in thought.
My gaze remained fixed on the slime in the box.
For some reason, I couldn't tear my eyes away.
It felt familiar somehow.
This was definitely something I'd never seen before, yet there was this nagging sense of déjà vu.
As I probed that sensation, a memory suddenly surfaced.
'That's right, the diary!'
The black slime mentioned in Philip Deran's diary.
He'd called it spider-like, hadn't he?
The description matched exactly.
But that black slime was said to be a mark used by the forces of evil to recognize each other.
......Things were taking a weird turn all of a sudden.
My mind grew tangled in confusion.
Two items connected to Transcendents appearing as auction lots at the same time?
The talk of an ancient hero aside...... whoever was putting items up for auction here.
There was definitely something off.
One linked to the forces of evil, the other to an ancient hero.
Neither was remotely ordinary.
"To heat up the atmosphere, starting bid is 10 gold!"
At the sound of the host's voice, I immediately raised my bidder's paddle without hesitation.
I had to get my hands on this first.
I hadn't spent as much as expected anyway, since nothing else had caught my eye up to now.
There was still the ancient hero's item left......
But the odds of that being real were slim to none.
A few bid out of curiosity, but most gave up quickly.
It wasn't the sort of thing to pique a commoner's interest from the start.
"70 gold! No more bids? Everyone, just imagine the infinite possibilities contained in this mysterious power!"
The host talked himself hoarse, trying to drive the price higher.
"70 gold! Going once to bidder number 78......"
At that moment, another paddle shot up.
The woman with the long ponytail.
"80 gold! A bold thinker steps forward!"
Ah, trouble.
But I was determined to win this no matter what.
She'd already swept up most of the auction items today.
Money must be overflowing for her...... It might not be on her level, but I had enough wealth to snag one or two items myself.
I raised my paddle right away, and she matched me instantly.
Like she wanted to see who'd come out on top.
I raised mine again the moment she lowered hers, before the host could even call the bid.
"120 gold! Suddenly we've got a bidding war. Let's see some higher offers."
Even after jumping 20 gold, she didn't back down.
Why was she so fixated on this?
Was it just collector's mania?
"300 gold!"
300 gold was less than half the price of the horse-drawn carriage-grade artifact just sold.
It was enough for an ordinary person to live idly for decades......
But not for me or this collector woman.
In the end, the bidding soared to 700 gold.
We took turns raising our paddles at steady intervals, like some rhythmic exercise,
until she finally stopped.
She must've decided it wasn't worth that much.
For a starting bid, it was high...... but knowing what it was, I found the price reasonable.
"The Mysterious Droplet goes to bidder number 78!"
He had the gall to call that thing a Mysterious Droplet.
No matter how you sliced it, it was just wriggling slime that looked like a bug.
Utterly repulsive.
At that moment, the ponytail woman glanced back over her shoulder.
Beneath her black cat mask, her eyes were as dark as her hair, and they met mine.
With my face fully covered, I returned her gaze without flinching.
After a brief stare-down, she turned forward first.
A few more items sold after that, until the moment I'd been waiting for arrived.
"You've all heard the rumors by now. A hero? Some of you might be skeptical."
The host continued leisurely. His demeanor was night and day compared to when he'd presented the black slime.
"But tales of the human Transcendent, a legend passed down since ancient times, still endure to this day."
His words stirred murmurs through the crowd.
I could guess the trigger.
Probably the mention of a Transcendent.
I'd never been particularly interested in them to begin with, and meeting Joart—a Transcendent who was impossible to respect—had shattered any illusions I might've had.
But the masses still clung to their fantasies of these legendary figures.
In a word, Transcendents were objects of admiration for the common folk.
And among those legendary Transcendents, the most legendary of all:
an item belonging to the Hero.
'Even so, I didn't expect this kind of hype.'
My instincts told me this auction would be a tough one.
Soon, the cloth-covered lot was brought onto the stage.
The gold-dyed cloth marked it as today's highlight.
When the cloth was pulled back, what appeared was a tiny fragment of iron plate.
Like a corner chipped off some armor.
Everyone leaned forward, straining for a better look, eyes ablaze.
I narrowed my eyes and peered at it too.
...That was supposed to be the Hero's item?
No matter how revered, what meaning could such a tiny scrap hold......
It was definitely rusted badly, that much was clear.
The mere fact it survived in this form meant it hadn't just been discarded somewhere—someone had kept it preserved.
But even I couldn't tell at a glance if it was genuine.
The passage of time would have erased any lingering mana traces.
Of course, there was a chance some remained.
Not necessarily the Hero's mana, but traces from all the hands it'd passed through on its way here.
Tracking those could reveal if it was a fraud or not.
I decided to hold out hope for that slim possibility.
"Starting bid: 1000 gold!"
But hearing the number made even that hope waver.
I had plenty of money, sure...... but it wasn't an endless spring.
Of course, if Professor Palrez's current efforts paid off and mass production went smoothly, it might be feasible.
Right now, we were swamped just fulfilling orders due to manpower shortages.
1000 gold for a tiny iron scrap...... No, it'd probably top 2000 at least.
The black-haired woman was already bidding, so if I jumped in, it'd climb even higher.
If its shabby appearance had turned people off, I might've gone for it, but the auction hall's fervor didn't cool even slightly.
No matter how I crunched the numbers, it didn't add up.
Even if it really was the ancient Hero's item, the best it'd give me was more leverage to act cocky toward Joart.
The black slime I'd just won was far more important to me anyway.
So I cleanly opted out.
Now I was more curious about whoever owned items like these.
Who could it be?
I was intrigued, but decided against digging.
I'd already stirred up enough trouble.
Especially anything tied to Transcendents—better not to touch it carelessly.
'Just wipe it from my mind.'
If I really had to know, I could always ask Jenjen later.
As I thought that, the ancient Hero's iron fragment predictably went to the black-haired woman, as expected.
I collected the box containing the black slime, paid up, and left the auction house immediately.
Seemed best to head straight home and avoid getting dragged into anything weird.
And the moment I thought that, I got nabbed.
"Hey, you. Hold up."
The voice belonged to that black-haired woman from the auction.
Behind her, attendants were hustling to load up her haul.
They'd even brought a carriage deep into this alley.
A noble? ......But nobles didn't usually strut so openly through backstreets like this.
Or maybe someone so infamous in this district that everyone knew her name.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"......"
"How dare you speak to the young lady like—!"
One of the attendants hauling luggage bristled at my curt reply and started forward, but her hand stopped him.
This was all theater anyway. Me, and her attendant trying to impress the young lady.
I'd already settled on a name: not Ivan Vieirn, but Cedric.
A name that evoked noble knighthood, paired with gloomy attire to hint at a tragic backstory—perfect.
"As long as he can deliver a message, it's fine."
She casually removed her cat mask.
And the face revealed was stunningly beautiful.
I'd figured she was young from the "young lady" bit, but...
What... was she actually nobility?
She stepped closer and spoke.
"Why'd you join the auction?"
"Why the casual tone?"
"......Don't dodge the question. You're interested in Transcendents, aren't you?"
I ignored her outright and turned to leave.
This was fine for Cedric. That's the concept I'd built.
And truthfully, she'd hit the mark.
Amid all the junk lots, two unexpected items had thrown me off my game momentarily.
But thinking back, I'd only bid on the black slime and the ancient Hero's item.
Unless she'd closely watched every one of the countless bidders, it wouldn't be obvious—but yeah, I'd slipped up.
That meant she knew about the forces of evil too.
The ancient Hero aside, connecting the black slime to them and then to Transcendents wasn't a simple leap.
"I'd like to entrust you with a job."
The black-haired young lady followed without anger, saying that.
"Not interested."
"How much?"
"Give me the item you won last, and I'll consider it."
"That's a no...... Fine. Everything I got from the auction except the ancient Hero's item—I'll give it all to you."
"......"
No condition could've interested me less.
All those artifacts she'd won were fakes anyway.
Of course, the mana herbs or other sundries were real, but useless to me.
When I'd first seen her blindly buying fake artifacts, I'd felt a twinge of pity.
It's only human to feel bad for someone getting scammed right in front of you.
But I'd quickly shelved the urge to warn her.
It clashed with Cedric's persona, and more importantly, I sensed it didn't matter to her if they were real or not.
If collecting them brought her joy, wasn't that enough?
That's what I'd thought then.
"Tempting, right?"
"Stop following me."
"Why? Not good enough? I think it's pretty fair. You haven't even heard what the job is."
I finally stopped walking.
"Don't you even know who I am?"
"No need. What you showed at the auction is enough."
"Is it? Well, I don't like your terms much."
"Why not?"
"Most of the stuff you bought at the auction? Fakes."
"......What?"
Why did it feel like I was crushing an innocent girl's dreams?
"How... would you even know that?"
Seeing her gape in shock only amplified the feeling.
Still, I had to follow through.
"If I tell you, what'll you give me?"
Well, just calling them fakes had basically spilled the beans.
The difference was whether she could still salvage things now, shortly after the auction ended.
As I stared her down, her mouth fell open wider.
Only her eyes peeked from the black mask—what had she guessed?
"Don't tell me you want the ancient Hero's item......"
"Just let me take a quick look."
"Look?"
"Yeah. Right here, just a peek. That's my condition."
"No way... I made the first offer......"
"I don't want to waste more time. Decide quick."
As the conversation dragged, her attendants sensed something off and started rushing over.
Hopefully she'd decide before those eager types did anything rash.
Luckily, she nodded soon after.
"Young lady...!"
She brushed past the approaching attendant and headed to the carriage.
She pulled out one of the artifacts being loaded.
"How dare you touch that so carelessly—"
"Let him!"
The black-haired woman followed and reined in the attendant.
Good grief, reining them in was a job in itself.
Come to think of it, this one was called... Flame Blade, right?
Verifying if it was fake was simple.
Any mage could've done it, once they spotted the fakery.
I placed the wickedly sharp dagger on my open palm for all to see.
Then I grasped the thread of mana flow encasing it.
Fake, but convincingly so.
I seized the thread with my own mana and yanked it free.
The thread came out effortlessly.
I hadn't even strained, yet it lost cohesion and slithered off the dagger.
Instantly, the once-sharp blade dulled.
A real artifact couldn't have its thread pulled with this little force.
I asked indifferently.
"See it?"
"......"